


Hunter/Hunted, scenes from an AU

by BajillionKittens



Category: Tokyo Babylon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23381074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BajillionKittens/pseuds/BajillionKittens
Summary: “Avampire?” Hokuto exclaims, her voice only slightly louder than her outfit. She snatches the offending fax out of her brother’s hands to examine it more closely. “Don’t those police know anything? There’s no such thing! I mean, sure, vampires are becoming more popular in manga and anime, even the movies, but they’re made up! Just some weird, perverted western fantasy!”---Subaru is called upon to investigate an apparent vampire attack, and Seishirou finds a way to make the bet more interesting.
Relationships: Sakurazuka Seishirou/Sumeragi Subaru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: SeiSub Hanami Exchange 2020





	Hunter/Hunted, scenes from an AU

**Author's Note:**

> [Ilyusa](https://ilyusa.tumblr.com/) requested the TRC!Vampire!Subaru interacting with TB!Seishirou, but I am unfortunately not well versed in TRC. (Or maybe I am but it still doesn't make sense???) The longer I thought about it though, the more I realized that TB!Subaru would hate being a vampire more than anyone else in existence, and I wanted to explore that a bit.

“A _vampire_?” Hokuto exclaims, her voice only slightly louder than her outfit. She snatches the offending fax out of Subaru’s hands to examine it more closely. “Don’t those police know anything? There’s no such thing! I mean, sure, vampires are becoming more popular in manga and anime, even the movies, but they’re made up! Just some weird, perverted western fantasy!”

Subaru reaches for his papers but makes no real effort to retrieve them even as Hokuto pulls them farther from his grasp. “They only said it reminded them of a vampire attack,” he says limply. 

On the other side of his small office, Seishirou leans back in his chair, sips his coffee, and does his best to tolerate the twins’ antics. It has been an incredibly busy day at the clinic: emergency after emergency after emergency, an endless parade of overly emotional owners desperately seeking a miracle at his hands when the easiest thing to do would be to snap the animal’s neck and end its suffering—along with his own. Pair the constant chaos of the clinic with his late night doing the government’s dirty work and Seishirou is running low on energy and good humor. Apparently the strain of playing the good doctor is starting to show. Subaru had offered to leave the moment the twins arrived for their usual afternoon visit, a box of pastries in tow, but Seishirou had waved off his concerns to save face. Although it did occur to Seishirou that perhaps it was simply the irritation of the boy’s presence which was finally bleeding through his carefully constructed façade. After all, the only thing more grating than the unending urgency of the clinic is the mundanity of maintaining this sham of a routine. 

Seishirou knows his patience is wearing exceptionally thin today, but he also knows his curiosity over whether or not he could ever come to see the boy as “special” is well and fully sated. All these months later, he still feels nothing for the Sumeragi head—and he never will. He could simply kill him now, possibly the girl, and be done with it. But. Seishirou was the one to make the bet all those years ago, and for better or worse, he will see it through. He fixes his expression and carries on. “How are you so certain they don’t exist, Hokuto-chan?”

Hokuto’s taffeta skirt flounces sharply as she turns on him, one hand on her hip and the other (the one holding the faxes) flung dramatically in Subaru’s direction. “Because if they were real, _surely_ the ultimate master of onmyojis , the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, who have protected Japan since ancient times, my dear little brother _Subaru _would have been trained to handle them. But so far as _I_ know, obaachan didn’t send him to Tokyo armed with garlic and wooden stakes! The Japanese had never even _heard_ of vampires until we had contact with Europeans!”__

__“Then it’s possible they do exist in Europe,” Seishirou reasons, not bothering to keep the little hint of challenge out of his voice. “After all, the west had no knowledge of onmyojitsu—which you know to exist—prior to the arrival of the Jesuits.”_ _

__“Oh, Sei-chan,” Hokuto huffs. She turns away from him, again making a big show of twirling her skirt—a bright orangeish-pink to match Subaru’s button down. She offers the papers back to her brother on her way to retrieve a second pastry of the box by the coffeemaker. Subaru seems to think twice before accepting them. “The next thing you’re going to tell me is that Santa Claus is real!”_ _

__“He is,” Seishirou teases, forced smile beaming behind his coffee cup. “But you’re so naughty he doesn’t even bring you coal.”_ _

__Hokuto peals with laughter. “O-hoho! It’s true!” Pastry in hand, she quickly changes the subject, giving a thorough critique of the new bakery all while continuing to indulge in their offerings. (“Mayu from class said they were the best in all of Tokyo, but I don’t think they’re even the best on their street,” she said around a bite of éclair.) Normally Seishirou would remind her it’s not lady like to speak with her mouth full, but he’s had enough chatter for the afternoon._ _

__While Hokuto makes a very convincing argument for a denser pastry cream and a lighter pâte à choux, Subaru stares intently at his fax with his brows pull low, his chin held in thought. Seishirou watches as his bright, green eyes flit about the page, as he clenches his jaw, as the muscles in his shoulders tense. Subaru wears his emotions on the sleeves of his carefully curated wardrobe, equal parts skepticism and concern, his conviction that he is a master of the supernatural at odds with a potential unknown. “A vampire…” Subaru murmurs to himself. And Seishirou feels the corners of his mouth quirk up in genuine interest._ _

* * *

__The creature, Subaru’s ‘vampire,’ is impossibly fast but not overly powerful. Its undead energy is more akin to that of a shikigami rather than its wielder as it goes skittering across the edges of Seishirou’s senses. If Subaru had faced this ‘vampire’ with the intention to slaughter rather than to save, he could have stood his ground with few issues. But instead, Subaru saw every case as an opportunity to rescue some poor lost soul, seldom acting in his own self-interests, never striking the first blow, always leaving himself open to harm rather than dare to inflict it on others... Subaru was Subaru was Subaru. There was no changing that. Not yet at least._ _

__Seishirou watches and waits, peering down from the rafters of the construction site the creature had been frequenting. Five suspected victims thus far and still Subaru was hesitant to accept his offer for aid, not wanting to potentially put Seishirou in harm’s way. Luckily, Subaru hadn’t objected when Seishirou suggested they split up to look for evidence of the supposed ‘vampire.’ The boy would have wondered at Seishirou letting things go this far before intervening if they had stayed together, and it saved him the hassle of manipulating Subaru’s memories later. Seishirou had felt a rather possessive urge to put a stop to things the moment the creature had sunken its teeth into Subaru’s pale neck, tearing his flesh and hastening his potential end. But for Seishirou’s plan to work, Subaru needed to be near death. So he waited, suffering through Subaru’s gasps and the creature’s slurps, and watched as the creature knelt over the boy’s body to feed, until finally it was time._ _

__Seishirou lands at Subaru’s side, managing a quick swipe at the creature which pierces its upper arm before it recognizes he’s there. The creature is not the only one gifted with speed. The creature bounds back like a wild, wounded animal, leaving Subaru to sag on the ground with only a small, breathy moan. It crouches low, stares at him with wide eyes and mouth open. Seishirou has managed to surprise it. “I believe you have something that belongs to me,” he says._ _

__The creature squares its stance as it watches him, baring its red-stained teeth. Perhaps it recognizes a fellow predator. Or perhaps it is simply eyeing its next meal. After a pause, the ‘vampire’ smiles at him. It straightens its posture, rights its clothing, and dusts itself off. If it weren’t for the blood splattered across its face, it would look like any other foreign tourist. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is that one yours?” it says, as though it had mistakenly taken Seishirou’s umbrella. “I saw where someone had laid their claim to the boy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite make out the markings, not being from around here and all. Terribly sorry to tell you this, my friend, but I’m afraid you’re too late.”_ _

___Hokuto was right about one thing,_ Seishirou thinks with a smirk. The creature is very much a ‘perverted European fantasy’—flawless pale skin, glowing pale eyes, flowing pale hair, obnoxious accent... It reminds him of a character out of one of her manga, soliloquy and all. He’ll enjoy killing it._ _

__“He tasted so delicious—what can I say?” The creature gives a shrug. “I may have overindulged. He’s lost so much blood, it’s only a matter of time now.”_ _

__Normally Seishirou would enjoy a bit of banter with his prey, but unfortunately the creature is right—at least partly so. Seishirou knows about blood—knows the warmth of as it pools in his hands, the trickle of it as it drains from a shallow cut, the pulse of it as it pours from an artery. He also knows about Subaru, and unfortunately, Hokuto seems to have inherit all of the physical fortitude and good health the Sumeragi clan has to give. Subaru could pull out of this on his own if given immediate attention, but if the damned thing keeps prattling on like this, his persistent anemia might do him in before their bet can ever come to fruition. Seishirou needs Subaru near death, not past it._ _

__“Although I dare say, I think I could find room for dessert.” The creature’s expression changes from nonchalance to intrigue. It begins to crouch again, the barest bend of its knees telling of its intent. Seishirou’s ready. “Be thankful I allowed you the time to say goodbye before I devour you as well.”_ _

__The creature lunges, pouncing quicker than a cat, covering the distance between them in less than an instant. Seishirou strikes._ _

__There’s no time for theatrics. It’s a clean hit, straight through, perfectly puncturing the heart, sending blood cascading down his sleeve, missing the sternum to wedge between the ribs on both sides shattering bone and cartilage but not his hand—a lesson he’d had to learn the hard way years ago. He clenches his fist, the shift in muscle locking the body in place. A wet suck against his wrist tells him he aimed too far right and punctured a lung, but he can’t win them all._ _

__Blunt trimmed fingernails turn frantic as claws against Seishirou’s face as the creature impaled on his arm desperately seeks release. Its gargled cries fail to carry on the air and suck against his wrist. Seishirou leads it one shuffling, heavy step at a time across the unfinished floor to the open frame of the exterior. Someday, large picture windows will fill this space, but for now it’s simply air with no support beams in reach. The creature still dangles from his forearm as Seishirou forces it out into the night. He gives the creatures legs a swift kick, knocking it off kilter, then lowers his arm, unclenches his fist, and allows gravity to do the work._ _

__By the time the creature lands with a wet thud into the exposed boards and beams in the dumpster below—a convenient cover up if Seishirou does say so himself—Seishirou’s face is bruised and his shirt is shredded. But the creature, the ‘vampire,’ isn’t dead just yet. The blood pooled in Seishirou’s cupped hand is still warm and teeming with energy. It’s exactly what he needs._ _

__“You had begun to bore me, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou muses into the open air. He turns from the open skyline before him and begins pacing his way back toward Subaru’s crumpled body bleeding out on the floor. “In fact, I’d thought about calling off our bet and killing you now. After all, if I didn’t find you ‘special’ by now, there was little chance I even would.”_ _

__Subaru’s body is limp and all but lifeless as Seishirou maneuvers it one handed into his lap, careful not to shift the torn skin and tendons of his neck to cause further damage. “In the end, I decided that wasn’t very sporting of me, and so our bet continues. But I’ve decided to make one small change—in your favor, I think you’ll find.” He placed his cupped hand against Subaru’s bottom lip and slowly tips the dark liquid into his mouth. A small line of it trickles down Subaru’s chin to the raw wound on his neck, the rest finds its way to the rear of his throat. A weak choke bubbles up as Subaru fights for breath, he swallows with little other choice for survival._ _

__“There is one thing in this world which has never bored me, Subaru-kun. One thing I find ‘special.’ And that—“ Seishirou pauses, admiring the way the dim lights of the surrounding city glisten off the patches of still wet blood blotching his hand and arm, the wet expanse of Subaru’s neck as the muscles work to swallow the last of the liquid invading his mouth. “—is the sakura. You see, the sakura need me. They need the blood I provide them if they want to continue thriving. Without me, they would be a pale shadow of themselves and no one wants to sit under a white sakura tree, do they?”_ _

__Subaru’s body gives a sharp jerk in his grasp, beginning to spasm, and Seishirou carefully cradles his head against his chest. “Being needed like that makes me feel ‘special.’ So I wonder: if you were to also need me in this way, would I find you ‘special’ as well?”_ _

* * *

__The staff at Shinjuku Hospital is quick to separate them upon their arrival at the emergency room. Once Seishirou has his wounds tended to—all of them minor—he is made to wait for the police so he might give a statement. He tells them quite the story about defending his dear friend, the onmyoji whom they themselves had called upon to investigate a supposed ‘vampire,’ from a vicious foreign attacker. A little feigned shock on his part and more than a little xenophobia on the detectives’ part go a long way toward their believing him._ _

__Subaru still isn’t allowed visitors other than family by the time Seishirou is released. Hokuto would have doubtlessly claimed him as family to allow him access, but he allows the twins their time together for now. A shower and a change of clothes are in order before Seishirou can play the part of the Sumeragi clan’s hero once more, so he briefly makes his way back to his apartment before returning. He stops only to buy a bouquet of pale-colored flowers and a small stuffed dog. After all, he still has the image of the ever devoted boyfriend to maintain._ _

__The door to Subaru’s room is standing open for all the world to see when Seishirou arrives, but still he feels he’s invaded a private moment as he enters. Hokuto lies in the bed beside Subaru, half curved around his head, petting at his hair. Subaru, with his neck and shoulder bandages visible under his gown, appears asleep, smiling faintly. It’s one of the rare quiet moments Seishirou has witnessed between them, and he finds an odd sort of glee in interupting it—knocking lightly on the door to gain the twins’ attention._ _

__Hokuto looks up first. “Sei-chan!” Her voice is low and respectful but still busting with energy._ _

__“Hokuto-chan,” he greets, giving her a slight bow before he steps further into the room._ _

__Subaru stirs enough to wipe at his eyes with an uncoordinated hand. His glazed eyes search the room to find him, and Seishirou makes sure he puts on his most worried face as he watches. “Subaru-kun.” Immediately the boy’s eyes lock on his, and Subaru gives him a wan smile. He whispers Seishirou’s name, and in turn Seishirou gives him a smile of his own._ _

__Seishirou deposits the bouquet and stuffed animal on the bed within easy reach and half-sits along the edge of the matress. “I brought you a gift,” he says, watching as Subaru immediately reaches for the dog, petting it one-handed. “How are you feeling?”_ _

__Subaru makes a tired, nasally hum. “Tired. The doctor said there was only minor damage, so I should get to go home soon.”_ _

__Hokuto wraps around her broth in an awkward half hug, careful not to jostle his neck. “Poor Subaru. Assaulted by some _dirty pervert_. You’re lucky Sei-chan was there to save you. I keep telling you: you need to take him with you on _all_ of your jobs, do you hear me?! And keep him by your side the entire time!”_ _

__“Yes, onee—” Subaru begins, but before he can attach the honorific, a sudden thought shoots Hokuto upright._ _

__“Subaru, have you thanked Seishirou yet for saving your life again?”_ _

__Seishirou attempts to wave her off. “Hokuto-chan, there’s no need—“ But she will not be deterred._ _

__“You pretend to bow your head and you thank him!” she demands._ _

__“Really, I—“_ _

__Subaru’s gloved hand touches lightly on Seishirou’s own where it rest of the hospital sheets, and Seishirou stares. “Thank you, Seishirou-san.” But the quiet sincerity of Subaru’s voice and the delicateness of so intimate a gesture aren’t what capture Seishirou’s attention. There’s something new in Subaru’s expression—something beyond the thrumming energy of living death building just under the surface of his aura. His smile is calm and confident, his gaze steady and unwavering, Subaru is no longer in conflict with himself. “Thank you.”_ _

__If Seishirou was a betting man, and current circumstances prove he most assuredly is, he would wager that dear Subaru-kun has finally admitted to himself that he is in love. Subaru thinks he is ‘special.’ The bet certainly was becoming more interesting…_ _

__Honestly, Seishirou isn’t quite sure how to react, so he decides to mirror a bit of Subaru’s behavior back at him, going wide-eyed with disbelief and embarrassment from such flattery. “You’re… you’re welcome, Subaru-kun.”_ _

* * *

__Much to his doctors’ surprise, Subaru makes a swift recovery. In fact, within days, he claims to be feeling better than he did even before the attack. Hokuto claims it is because of Seishirou’s love, which draws no flustered response from Subaru and therefore puts an end to her teasing. Seishirou argues that immediate and intensive medical care were the true cure, which causes Hokuto to respond that he is ‘no fun.’_ _

__With Subaru recovered, the three of them are all back to their normal routines within the week. Once again, Subaru takes on a job here or there, the twins are stopping by the clinic for afternoon visits, the three of them are getting lunch together on the weekends, and Seishirou and Subaru even enjoy one unsurprisingly uneventful “dinner date” at the twins’ apartments with Hokuto providing not only her latest culinary discoveries but also her sage guidance and supervision. Even under his sister’s more intense than usual safe-keeping, Subaru seems lighter after he leaves the hospital. More and more often, Seishirou sees that calm, confident smile directed toward him, and sometimes Seishirou gives a similar look in return. But for now Seishirou is simply toying with the boy. As with all of his hunts, Seishirou need only watch and wait for the opportunity to strike._ _

__About two weeks after the attack, Subaru’s condition begins a steady decline._ _

__It’s immensely entertaining in watching the gears turn in Subaru’s mind as he attempts to piece the situation together. Subaru had always been notorious for not eating. Sometimes in the midst of a job, he simply forgot. Other times he was so consumed with anxiety, he couldn’t stomach a meal. So Subaru’s growing disinterest in food combined with its physical effects don’t cause any immediate concerns, although Seishirou does spy him giving his food a curious glance as he attempts to choke it down. Soon, Subaru’s afternoon snacks when they all visit at the clinic begin to go uneaten. Subaru waves off Hokuto’s concerns as nothing, but Seishirou can see the worry in Subaru’s eyes when he thinks no one is looking. As Subaru grows weaker and weaker, he withdraws from the two of them, at times pulling back from their familiar gestures as though in fear. He begins to visit the clinic less and less. Until finally, Subaru stops coming at all._ _

__Seishirou watches and waits._ _

__Watches and waits…_ _

__The day Hokuto breaks down sobbing in his arms, Seishirou knows the time is right. Before he can offer her a proper greeting, she all but throws herself at him, knocking his glasses askance and clinging to him with shaking hands. “I don’t _know_ what’s wrong!” Hokuto wails into his long white coat. “He never comes out of his room! He never talks to me! keep cooking all of his favorites but he just—he doesn’t eat, Sei-chan! If he doesn’t eat, how can he survive?! I’m losing him, and I don’t even know why! No matter what I do—he won’t eat!”_ _

__Seishirou doesn’t bother to fight the grin splitting across his face, braking through the façade of the good doctor. “He will,” he says simply._ _

__He has waited for this day so patiently. There’s no time to waste. The spell works nearly instantly, Hokuto dropping into his arms blissfully asleep. He deposits her in a chair in his office, sheds his glass, and puts the final elements of his plan in motion._ _

__Rather than bother with the door—Hokuto had all but told him Subaru wouldn’t open it—Seishirou employs an alternate means of entry. He would hate to guess what the twins are paying for two luxury penthouses in the heart of Tokyo, but the ability to make a dramatic entrance through the balcony doors of Subaru’s oversized bedroom with the wind billowing the curtains is worth every penny of it. “It would be selfish of you to waste away like this.”_ _

__Subaru jolts upright in his bed, turning to him wide-eyed. Later Seishirou could chastise him for not setting any wards, but for now the surprise feels like a appetizer to the main dish. “Sei-seishirou-san,” Subaru stammers, attempting to collect his nerve. His skin is pale—more pale than usual if possible—and there are dark rings setting in under his eyes. This wasn’t the version of death Seishirou was most familiar with, but still he knew its pallor. Subaru stands from the bed in his socked feet, but his legs shake with little promise of holding him. “I—“_ _

__“Think of what you’re doing to poor Hokuto-chan,” Seishirou steps into the room, crossing to Subaru in even, deliberate strides until the two of them are much closer than social acceptance would dictate. “Think of what it would do to her and your dear obaachan, if they were to lose you in such a way. You have to take better care of yourself, Subaru-kun, no matter what you’re become.” Seishirou relishes the way he towers over the boy, that look of fear in his eyes. “You must eat.”_ _

__Subaru cowers back. “No! I— It would— It would hurt someone! I can’t—“_ _

__“Either way, you’re going to hurt someone. One hurt would temporary yet constant, the other everlasting yet instant. So. What will it be, Subaru-kun?” Seishirou reaches up to carefully undo his tie, watching his own handiwork and allowing the boy a few moments to think without Seishirou staring at him. He pops the top buttons on his shirt, then again sets his eyes on Subaru. “Will you cause your sister and grandmother and everyone who cares about you a pain that never ends? Or will you choose to hurt me again and again for your own selfish survival?”_ _

__Conflict rages in Subaru’s eyes as the tears begin to form. He looks to the floor, to the door, to the skyline beyond his window, anywhere but at the long, inviting expanse of Seishirou’s neck. But it’s a battle which has already been decided. Seishirou can see the want, the desire, the raw _need_ boiling through the shame. Subaru hangs his head and begins to cry. He’s broken him. He’s won. _ _

__Seishirou pulls Subaru to him with no resistance, holding the boy in his embrace and pressing his head against his chest, positioning Subaru’s head right at his heart. Temptation camouflaged as comfort. Subaru’s hands come up to clench at his coat. He fights back a sob but allows the tears to flow. Seishirou whispers into his hair, “Eat, Subaru-kun.”_ _

__They settle back into the bed. Subaru still hiding his face as Seishirou moves him to straddle his lap. Subaru fits there so easily, so perfectly. He can feel the boy’s breath against his skin, his warm tears falling against his collar. Subaru is hesitating. Seishirou rubs his hand along his upper thigh, runs his finger through his hair as she shushes him. Then moving the boy’s head with intent, he says again, “Eat.”_ _

____

* * *

Seishirou would like to have seen the look on Hokuto’s face when Subaru confessed to his twin that she alone would be the one to grow old. What must her reaction have been when she learned he had become one of those creatures she claimed didn’t exist? Did she calmly accept this new reality? Did she deny that such a thing could happen? Was she angry? At Seishirou? At the police? At Subaru? At _god?_ As it was, Seishirou had to content himself with seeing her pout over the next few days as she was forced to live through the indignity of having been proven wrong. At the end of that self-set period of mourning for her pride, however, Hokuto had fully revived and was as lively as ever. She was wholly devoted to the cause of learning all she could about her brother’s new condition. No matter where they go now, she has a new book in tow—folklore, novels, manga—spouting off bits of fiction in search of truth.

“Oh! Listen to this, Subaru!” Hokuto says, waving at her brother over a tray of fast food as the three of them gather for their usual weekly lunch, her eyes glued to the latest addition to her library. “So this book says that vampires have the ability to ‘entrall’ others, ‘gaining nearly full control over their victims’ minds and bodies, whether through supernatural means or through their sheer beauty and charisma.’ ” She casts a pointed, almost leering look at them from across the table. 

Seishirou huffs a dry laugh into his cheeseburger—the thought of overly empathetic Subaru ever trying to force his will onto another!—which may or may not be the reason Subaru begins to fidget in the seat beside him. A healthy blush spreads across Subaru’s cheeks at a record pace, coloring them with Seishirou’s blood. Subaru suddenly doesn’t know what to do with his gloved-hands, but busies himself by fiddling with a stray French fry from Houkto’s tray, the food of the living which no longer sates his hunger. “I don’t… I don’t think that’s true, Hokuto-chan,” he stammers.

“I guess it _would_ be hard to tell with the two of you—you’ve had Sei-chan wrapped around your little finger since the beginning!”

“Hokuto!”

“O-hohoho!” 

The twin’s outburst attracts a few stares from around the dining room which linger thanks in no small part to Hokuto’s latest pop culture inspired ensemble. Subaru slouches into the booth seat, his face in his hands and his embarrassment almost tangible in the air surrounding him, while Hokuto returns to her book unbothered by the attention surrounding them. “I’m not saying you should use those powers if you have them—to violate someone’s free will would be the lowest of the low! But if you do want to try it, it might not hurt to start with your teachers—you _are_ still enrolled, remember? Then again, it would be hard to tell if it was actually working with them. I mean, your teachers really like you and usually give you more time on your assignments when you ask. If you tried to enthrall them to convince them to do that when they were going to do it anyway, did you really ’control’ them? Maybe the whole ‘beauty and charisma’ thing just means you’re just extra persuasive, extra likeable now. Sort of like how people give me free things simply because I am a young, beautiful girl. In that case, I say take advantage of it! O-hoho!”

“Hokuto-chan, please…” Subaru groans into his gloves.

Seishirou spares them a second dry huff of laughter before taking another ravenous bite of his cheeseburger. Hokuto likes to joke that he is “eating for two now,” which he supposes is true, although he doesn’t care for the implication. It’s always worst after a feeding, and Subaru had certainly enjoyed him last evening, crawling into Seishirou’s lap without a single word of complaint or apology, and staying there until long after he’d finished eating. 

Even if it was true that dear Subaru-kun could control others now, Seishirou thinks off-handedly, he’s far too kind-hearted to ever do such a thing.

Seishirou pauses mid-chew. Staring past his burger, past his shake, his fries, his tray, the table, past the physical world itself, seeing none of it as his eyes go wide. For the first time in many, many years, possibly the first time in his life, Seishirou second guesses himself. 

Does he believe that? 

The thought itself is sound, logical, based on careful observation of his target. Subaru is kind-hearted to a fault, reluctant to exert any sort of control over anyone—he won’t even willingly ask a favor. But there is something wrong. There is some subtext, some emotion to the thought that shouldn’t exist, Seishirou is sure of it. But he can’t quite put his finger on it. If the opposite were true, then. If Subaru _were_ capable of such things—no. It can’t be true. It’s not possible. It would be completely out of character. Subaru would never intentionally—

Under the table, Subaru’s leg brushes against his own, a gentle touch of knee against knee, just enough to draw Seishirou’s attention. Seishirou tears himself from his reverie to find Subaru looking up as him with the beginnings of that same calm, confident smile Seishirou had first seen as Subaru lay recovering is his hospital bed after Seishirou had both saved and damned him. Subaru shifts in his seat until their legs are pressed flush against one another, calf to calf, unusually close and leaning closer still, his piercing green eyes not wavering from Seishirou’s own for even a moment. Subaru picks up on his anxiety somehow, his brows turning down in concern. ”Seishirou-san?” he asks. “Is something wrong?”

The concern and irritation leave Seishirou’s mind as quickly as they came. “No,” he says, remembering the half-chewed burger in his mouth and finishing it before continuing. “I was… thinking.” Although he can’t quite remember about what. He retraces the conversation in his mind as best he can. “You had mentioned something about visiting the hospital?”

Subaru’s expression brightens. “Mmm. With everything that happened afterward, I never properly thanked the nurses who cared for me. I thought I might bring them a gift.“

“And maybe enthrall a few of them.”

“Hokuto-chan!”

_Subaru-kun would never do such a thing._

**Author's Note:**

> So this leads us into the "Rebirth" arc wherein Subaru meets little Yuya and Seishirou loses an eye. BUT! Subaru wins the bet by enthralling Seishirou which means Hokuo doesn’t die. And once the apocalypse rolls around, the Sumeragi twins are the Dragons of Heaven’s MVPs since one is "immortal" and an actual DOH, the other is Hokuto and an honorary DoH, and both are boning Dragons of Earth on the regular. The end!


End file.
